Bethlehem man claims harassment led to screwdriver assault

A Bethlehem man who rammed another man with his car, then stabbed him with a screwdriver and threatened to kill him pleaded guilty on Friday to aggravated assault and other offenses.

Cesar M. Garcia-Bueno, 40, said in Northampton County Court that his victim had been regularly threatening to kill him before the attack in April on the South Side.

"I had a lot of stress," Garcia Bueno told Judge Edward Smith. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't stand it anymore."

Garcia-Bueno could face a maximum of 17 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 2 on charges that also include terroristic threats and reckless endangerment.

On April 4, Garcia-Bueno was driving east on E. Fourth Street when he intentionally swerved into the parked car of Jonathan Rosario Ortiz, which was on the other side of the road, police said.

"I'm going to kill you," Garcia-Bueno told Ortiz before stabbing him in the biceps with a Phillips-head screwdriver, according to court records.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Eyer said authorities do not concede that Ortiz had been harassing the defendant.

"In fact, the facts suggest otherwise," Eyer said.

But defense attorney Greg Paglianite said he will argue at sentencing that his client was under mental turmoil because of Ortiz's threats. Before the crime, Garcia-Bueno had sought counseling because of the stress he was under and received a preliminary diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, Paglianite said.

"I couldn't sleep. I couldn't do anything," Garcia-Bueno said. "I would call my counselor every day, telling her what was going on."